Vijayawada: Today marks an important day for the School Education Department as the evaluation of answer scripts for the Intermediate exam begins at 25 district centres.
Involved in the work are approximately 23,000 evaluators, who will do this till April 4. Each evaluator would handle 30 answer scripts a day. The total number of answer scripts is around 60 lakh, principal secretary to school education, Praveen Prakash, said.
In parallel, the 10th board exams started today. The exams are being conducted in 3,473 examination centres, overseen by an equal number of chief superintendents and departmental officers.
Praveen Prakash said facilities at the centres include bench-seating, RO plants for drinking water, high-end toilets, tube lights, and fans. In a few centres, air coolers and air conditioners have been provided. Some 30,234 rooms are available to accommodate the 725,618 students registered for the SSC examinations. Some 35,119 invigilators are on duty. Additionally, 130 troublesome centres are closely watched, with the support of 156 Flying Squads and 682 Sitting Squads to ensure the exams are held in a normal manner, he said.
There would be real-time monitoring of the examination centres, including the use of CC-TV cameras. Every page of each question paper now includes a unique QR code on the top and also a water-marked code in Webding font, allowing for real-time tracking and identification of any malpractice.
“AP has taken an innovative step by providing audio question papers to visually impaired students. We are the only state to do so on a pilot basis. This year, 12 special needs children are using this facility. Plans are to extend it to all students with special needs in the future, the official said.
On re-enrolled students, Praveen Prakash said the state has introduced a new policy wherein students who failed in the previous year's exams have been re-enrolled as regular students. Some 1,125 such students are participating in this year's exams.
Their marks will be considered on a subject-wise basis, selecting the best of both years' marks. This is aimed at removing the distinction between students who failed and those who passed, in the mark sheets, he stated.
